Broken Mirror: Apophis 2029 Read Online Free Page B

is that loss of hope that weighs so heavily on your shoulders and not knowing what tomorrow will bring.  All I knew at this moment was that I didn't want to die like this; cold and wet in the middle of nowhere.  Understandably, for most people the thought of catching the disease was even worse than death; cursed to be left alone to survive like a crazed animal or waste away as your mind turned to mush and losing all sense of who you were. 
      The suicide rate across the globe has skyrocketed and continued to climb after the outbreak.  In many areas there were survivor camps run by religious groups who preached empty hopes and offered salvation.  In many instances, these fanatics were more dangerous themselves than the disease itself.  I even heard strange tales of newcomers in their midst who would argue with them why any God of theirs would allow this blight to befall them, only to end up murdered in their sleep for their blasphemy.
      Personally, I never fell for all that fraudulent steaming pile of crap they fed to the mindless masses.  Religion was for the weak who desired to blame their actions on anyone or anything but themselves; or to use as a personal excuse to harm another human being under the guise of some holy cause as if to justify their conduct.  People killing one another over make-believe was a type of insanity I didn't want anything to do with.
    * * *
      In an adjacent building far above, a dark figure was watching from an open balcony, a hooded image that clung to the shadows, only outlined by the brief streak of lightning that crackled through the dark skies.  He watched the drama unfold below as the lone survivor was scrambling through the ruins of the office building towards a fenced arena with a pair of weepers in close pursuit.  From his position he could see the creatures were cornering their prey who was fleeing towards a dead end.  From the forth floor of the building that loomed above, a crack of gunfire resounded and the flash of an aiming laser glistened through the heavy rain, taking down a third weeper that had emerged from the dividing tree line. 
    * * *
      Hearing the shot, I was startled and lost my footing; painfully twisting my ankle as I stumbled and cut my hand upon the broken concrete.  Suddenly the bright flare of a laser sparkled in the puddle at my feet and I ducked for cover behind a pile of rubble.  I tried to peek through the cracks, aware that there was someone in the main building above putting me in their sights.  I quickly realized that the sniper had thought either I was one of the diseased or that I was an easy target for pilfering my supplies.  Stuck out in here the open, I had no place to go. 
      Doubling back to the forest meant that I would have to take my chances with dodging the group of weepers on my tail, and after nearly a full hour of running, I had no more energy to play cat and mouse with them.  My prospects of making it this close to dusk were close to zero.  A few yards ahead there was a large fenced area that opened up beyond.  Next to the gate I could tell there was a small opening that had been jarred loose, inviting me a way in.  From there I could find shelter in the ground floor of the building where I had spotted a large pair of double doors moments before.
      Jumping out from behind the broken wall, I sprinted for the hole in the fence; strafing as I went to avoid the sniper, but a shot rang out as a flash of green light traced the ground in front of me.  The bullet ricocheted off the cement just a few feet from my head, sending stinging shards of stone into my face.  Whomever it was on the trigger had been waiting patiently for me to show myself.  In a panic, I crawled back under cover from the gunfire just as I heard the familiar growl of the weeper that had followed me onto the upper wall.  As a distraction, I leapt out and faked a jump out towards the fence again, and pounced back the opposite direction towards the